|
|
Posts filed under 'NHL'
… or does it just seem that way? Definitely a disaster for the ages — the wordmark is pathetic, the chest number belongs in the NBA, the shoulder logos look like they’re lifted from the San Diego Chargers, and the socks are embarrassing-and-a-half. Lots more photos here, if you dare.
Lots more NHL news in my annual season-preview column over on Page 2.
Big Membership News: See that over there on the right? That’s a stack of $10 gift cards from our friends at Distant Replays. Okay, it’s actually an illustration of a stack of $10 gift cards, but whatever. The point is, starting right now, all new enrollees in the Uni Watch membership program will receive one of those $10 cards as a membership benefit (only one card per person, and the card can’t be used on clearance items). It’s a pretty sweet deal when you consider that the enrollment fee is only $15 to begin with. Hell, given what’s happening to the economy, our entire economic system could be running on Distant Replays gift cards within a few weeks.
I figure a few of you have questions, so this seems like a good time for one of my little imaginary press conferences:
Aw man, I signed up for the membership program just a few days ago! Can I get a gift card?
Nope — sorry.
I signed up way back at the beginning of the membership program. It doesn’t seem fair to reward to people who are just getting around to signing up now while giving nothing to people who supported the site early on.
No, it’s not fair, but circumstances change. Back when you signed up, Distant Replays hadn’t given me a bunch of gift cards to bestow upon new enrollees; now they have. Simple as that.
I’m already a member, but I plan to order a new card design. Will I qualify for the gift card?
Yes.
Will this be a permanent addition to the membership benefits, or is it only for a specific time window?
That’s completely up to Distant Replays. As long as they make the gift cards available, I’ll keep offering them as a benefit. And I’ll try to give you some advance warning if this benefit is going to be discontinued.
I think that covers it. OK? OK.
Uni Watch News Ticker: New jerseys for the Indiana Ice of the USHL (with thanks to David Soline). … Interesting jersey worn by North Point High School in southern Maryland, whose chest wordmark is cursive, presumably to mimic their helmet logo, although the two scripts don’t quite match (with thanks to Jason Walker). … Remember when we were doing logo mashups earlier this year? Louis Crawford saw something similar in the window of a Philly men’s boutique. Turns out that the logos are supposed to spell out “Ubiq,” which refers to this T-shirt line. … It’s tough to see, but if you look at the right outside heel of Jason Bay’s cleats, there’s a “Playoffs 2008″ logo, like the one shown here (with thanks to Ken Weimer). … According to the second item on this page, the Syracuse Crunch (the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate) will be retiring No. 7. Why? Because Paul Newman wore it in Slapshot (with thanks to Doug Mooney). … Small item here about Maryland’s merit decals. … I can’t get into all the corporate machinations, but Riddell’s Revo Speed helmet was originally an Easton design. Here’s a slideshow of pics of a rare Easton sample, courtesy of Ken Weimer. … You don’t often see color pics of the Blackhawks’ barber pole design (nice find by Jen Muller). … “My boss pointed me toward this site, and it’s pretty impressive,” says Greg Riffenburgh. “Among some of the crazy new models, they’ve got a bunch of classic (and apparently original) hat designs. Some designs look to be from the 1980s and early ’90s from old brands like Logo Athletic, plus some MLB replicas.” … Kentucky will unveil new hoops uniforms on Friday. … Kenn Tomasch works at the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, where he recently found some good photos in the archives. “This one, from 1948, is from a ‘world’ softball tournament that used to be held here regularly. This one is from the fall of 1948. I thought the pants of the player from the Milwaukee team were interesting. And this one is from the 1949 Salad Bowl, a little-known bowl game played on New Year’s Day here in Phoenix. This one was between the University of Arizona and Drake University (Drake won 14-13). Note the A on the front of the U of A’s helmets (and no facemasks, obviously). Drake was in all white. The stadium was on a high school campus but sat 23,000 people, if you can believe that.” … Fun note from Amanda St. John, who writes: “The ADHD-tastic children’s web site made by the folks at MLB.com includes a uni-design game in which the only options for stockings include stirrups! It’s super-cartoony, but there are quite a few mix-and-match pieces to choose from. Go to here, click on the ‘game dome,’ then ’suit ’em up,’ and try not to let the maddening music get the best of you.” … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Nice 10-minute video clip here about the advent of the Seattle Pilots. … Randy Williams got a nice screen grab of Mitch Williams with “No Fear” written on his glove.
My favorite month in my favorite place: By the time most of you read this, I’ll be on my way to the Midwest. Tonight I’ll be making a pilgrimage to Ricko’s house, tomorrow and Saturday will mark the world debut of the Forewords (hope to see some of you in Minneapolis and/or Madison), and then I’ll be knocking around Wisconsin for a few days.
So Bryan will be running the show from now through next Wednesday or so (except for this Saturday, when Vince will pinch-hit while Bryan is off on a cycling race). All Ticker contributions to the Uni Watch e-mail address will automatically be forwarded to him. Treat him right, make me proud, etc., etc. See you all in about a week.
October 9th, 2008
Spent the whole weekend upstate in Ulster County. Not far from NYC in terms of distance (about two and a half hours), but a universe away in all other respects. A little hiking, a little road-tripping, a little “Holy bejeesus, look at that foliage!,” a little cooking this bizarre-o smoked pork roast stuffed with a length of kielbasa — nice. Yesterday’s activities included stops at two tremendous roadhouse taverns, both of which had Nascar on the TV, which was a bit of a kick in the head. I mean, if I walk into a bar on an October Sunday, I should be able to expect to see football and/or baseball, am I right? But when in Rome and all that, so I looked at the TV and made grunts of appreciation whenever there was a crash, which as we all know is the whole point.
At least nobody laughed me out of the bar when I asked if they knew how the Brewers/Phillies game had ended. But I knew better than to ask if anyone had seen any of the season-opening NHL games. That’s right, while you were focusing on baseball and football and maybe Nascar, the NHL season got started over the weekend, with four games in Prague and Stockholm (sort of like MLB opening its season in Japan, only with lots of pickled herring instead of sushi). My annual ESPN season-preview column won’t run until Thursday, when the rest of the season starts, because at least three teams are slated to unveil their new alternate jerseys between now and then, but here are some initial observations based on the four European games:
• All four teams playing over the weekend wore “NHL Premiere” commemorative patches. The ones worn by the Sens and Pens featured the word “Stockholm” and a Swedish flag motif, while the ones worn by the Rangers (who, in keeping with longstanding team custom, put the patch on their shoulder instead of their chest) and Lightning had the word “Prague” and a Czech flag motif.
• Remember how the new Reebok jerseys last year had those awful scoop hems, and how the Rangers custom-tailored their uniforms to create a more traditional straight hemline? Reader Alex Argon notes that they don’t appear to be doing that this year.
• Reader Kelly Phillips actually attended one of the Sens/Pens games in Stockholm and filed the following report: “I saw more bizarre jerseys than one could even imagine. Just about every NHL team, and every version of the Sens and Pens, German teams, even the Belfast Giants. But, nothing could compare to this sighting — note the Frankfurt Lions jersey being worn under the Leafs sweater. Honorable mention goes to the guy wearing a Sundin jersey and a kilt!” Which would no doubt have been a huge hit in those roadhouse bars I was in.
Friendly Reminder: This Friday and Saturday will mark the debut of the Forewords (my lecture/slideshow collaboration with Liz Clayton), as we open two shows for the Magnetic Fields. We don’t know how we’re going to be received by an audience that’s expecting to see an opening band, so it’d be nice to pack the house with some friendly faces, if you get my drift. Tix for the Friday show in Minneapolis are available here, and tix for the Saturday show in Madison can be had here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: On the subject of Titans defenders having strings hanging off of their jerseys, Chance Wilmoth notes that Pacman Jones used to do it. Anyone know if he’s still doing this in Dallas? Also, Chance Wilmoth reports that Tony Brown had his strings hanging out of his sleeves yesterday. … Awesome T-shirt concept here (great find by Adam Reiffen). … According to this article, one reason Vince Dooley changed UGA’s pants from silver to white for several years was because a student cheer of “Go you silver britches” sounded vulgar when chanted rapidly (with thanks to Brent Hardman). … Fans of the old Mattell handheld football games will enjoy the cool box illustrations shown here and here. Plus the same site is showcasing some basketball and hockey designs (big thanks to Paul Ricciardi). … The hockey-themed rock band the Zambonis will be performing at the NHL Face-Off Event in Times Square this Friday. “We’re already debating which of our 350 hockey jerseys we’ll don onstage,” writes drummer Mat Zamboni (who’s got a Whalers-patterned kit). “One cool perk has been receiving some vintage throwback tees, including an elusive Hartford Whalers tee (that’s me). I don’t know the reason official Whalers throwback gear has been impossible to find, but this gives fans at least a little hope.” … On Friday I asked if this character might have been the prototype mascot who lost an “applause vote” to Pat Patriot during halftime of a 1979 game. Based on this account (sent my way by Bob Jones), which describes the prototype character as “a colonial-era superhero,” I’d say we have a match. … I’ve probably learned more oddball factoids from Jeremy Brahm in the last two years than from everyone else put together. Here’s the latest one: “In sumo wrestling, when a yokozuna loses a match to a makunouchi-level wrestler, the crowd tosses their cushions in an act of celebration. Now the sumo association is trying to put a stop to this practice by replacing the old cushions with new ones that are held together with rope.” … Minor tweaking for Tennessee hoops, going from this to this (with thanks to Luke Pellegra). … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Nike is now making prosthetics. … TNOB (team name on back) alert: the Covington (Kentucky) Catholic Colonels (with thanks to Craig McGlone). … Amare Stoudemire may have to wear goggles (with thanks to Dominick Carfello). … Gorgeous (and, alas, very overpriced) jacket here (with thanks to Scotty Johnson). … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: I knew the bicentennial patch had been worn in Super Bowl X, but I didn’t realize it had also been worn five months earlier in the 1975 Hall of Fame Game. Larry Weiderecht says the other team in that game, the Bengals, also wore it. … Bob Wilmot came across this amazing photo on eBay (dig that facemask) and soon found his way to the seller’s Photobucket page, which is loaded with old wire service pics. … Even high schools have helmet carts, although that one, from Lakeland High School in Florida, doesn’t have a facemask (thanks to Wayne Koehler). … Back in May, I was told that the Saints’ old Sir Saint spokescharacter would be revived. And sure enough, he’s back — sort of. Not nearly as much charm as before. Plus his hands have five fingers — a massive faux pas, since everyone knows cartoon characters have only four fingers, it’s the law! … Jordan Eichenblatt notes that an SMU player — No. 7 in this photo — had a missing nameplate on Saturday … Looks like Minnesota has a different collar this year compared to last year. Anyone know more about the rest of the jersey? … I don’t know anything about Canadian politics, but Jean Gagnier tells me that this is Stéphane Dion, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada (the official opposition), wearing an old CCM Canadiens jersey. … I think we’ve shown this map before, but just in case (with thanks to L.I. Phil). … Great job by Ryan Perkins, who captured two Eli Manning helmets in the same shot. … We’ve been talking about the maddening inconsistencies in the Bengals’ side panels for years, but Nick Waeltz captured a particularly vivid example of it. … Good little article here about the designer who created the NHL Winter Classic logo, among other marks (with thanks to Steve Stovall). … Matt Garza was wearing earplugs yesterday (thanks, Vince). … “I spent this past weekend at the Skytop Lodge in Canadensis, Pennsylvania, in the Poconos,” writes Bill Burke. “While in the activity room, I spotted this jersey hanging on the wall with an accompanying letter, which was from a woman whose husband played hockey for the lodge team during the 1930-31 season. She was clearing out his personal effects and thought that the lodge would like the sweater returned. It is basic but classic, and I only wish I could have seen if it had a number on the back.” … Bruce Bates took one of those tablecloths sold in a lot of NFL home party kits and customized the end zones to match the field from Super Bowl LXI. “I made the goalposts out of straws and Play-doh, and the end zones were combos of wrapping paper and carefully cut fonts,” he says. … David Greenwald notes that Angels catcher Mike Napoli has conflicting logos. … New anniversary patch for the Timberwolves. … Odd scene in yesterday’s Dolphins/Chargers game, where Ronnie Brown spent part of the game wearing these weird partial gloves that only covered his thumbs while leaving the rest of his fingers bare. Anyone know more about this?
October 6th, 2008
Reader Jared Wheeler works for Mitchell & Ness, where he conducts historical research to help ensure that the company’s reproductions are as accurate as possible. I’ll be conducting an interview with him soon, but for now here’s a bunch of killer hockey photos he recently sent my way:
• “Here are some photos of the first ‘all-star’ game in 1934, which was a benefit game for Ace Bailey of the Maple Leafs,” says Jared [this was 13 years before the first ‘official’ NHL All-Star Game — PL]. “Check out how the Leafs wore ‘Ace’ on their jerseys. And here’s a shot of Bailey himself after two brain surgeries. After he was hit from behind on December 12, 1933, in a game against the Bruins, some of the B’s started wearing protective headgear.”
• “Here’s Bobby Orr wearing No. 5 in an All-Star Game with his No. 4 gloves, and wearing No. 27 — with No. 37 gloves! — in an exhibition game prior to his rookie season.”
• “Another All-Star Game shot, this one from the 1976 ASG in Philly. Both teams wore the bicentennial patch, which was also worn by the Steelers and Cowboys in Super Bowl X.”
• “This is a is a 1937-1938 photo of Milt Schmidt wearing a crude mask. Here’s a later photo of Schmidt — look how his captain’s C is between the two numerals. Both photos ran in Sport magazine in 1948.”
• “Here’s a shot of the Red Wings’ diamond-shaped captaincy patches. And dheck out the in a diamond-shaped sleeve designation here. The ‘R’ team, by the way, is the amateur New York Rovers. This shot was taken at training camp in Lake Placid in 1948.”
• “Two interesting World War II-era shots here: The Red Wings wore a ‘V’ patch, for victory (you can see it on both sleeves), and some Maple Leafs players prepared for war in their sweaters.”
• “Here are some great old sweaters: Seattle Metropolitans, circa 1919 (here’s a tight shot of the crest), New York Americans, mid-1930s (plus a rear view), and Philadelphia Quakers, circa 1930. We got these shots from the Hall of Fame.” [As an aside, what’s the deal with that little collar ribbon on the Seattle sweater? — PL]
• “Two Rangers wearing improvised facemasks: Ivan ‘Ching’ Johnson, circa 1930s, and Walt Tkaczuk, 1977-78.”
• “Look at the two jersey logos in this shot. It appears that the face on Hull’s logo is much darker.”
• “Some random old stuff: the Montreal Wanderers, circa 1914; the 1928 Detroit Cougars; and the first indoor arena game, which was in Quebec in 1893.”
• “Is that a back pocket on the player at far right?”
Awesome stuff. And in the non-uni category, Jared even found another shot of an athlete smoking (and baling hay): That’s Bobby Hull.
Signal Flare: Do you work for Under Armour? If so, I have a quick question for you. Please drop me a line here. Thanks.
And you should’ve seen the notes that came in from Tom Tancredo and Lou Dobbs: Of all the reactions to yesterday’s entry about Los Spurs and Los Suns (most of which were posted in the comments section, although a few readers e-mailed me their thoughts directly), the most interesting and thoughtful one was an e-mail from Pablo Souki. Check it out:
I grew up in Venezuela, speaking Spanish. Of the American major sports leagues, I followed MLB very closely, the rest not at all. Some of the team names were always translated back then, like Cerveceros and Gigantes, who seem to have gotten it right. Others were not. The Yankees were always the Yanquis (phonetic translation, I guess, but nothing else), the Phillies were always the Filis, the Dodgers were the Dodgers.
I get the feeling (no hard evidence of any kind here, just me remembering my childhood) that the ones who were translated were the ones who had a literal translation: The Reds were the Rojos, the A’s the Atléticos, the Blue Jays the Azulejos, and so on. This seems to have changed with the Marlins, though — there was an actual translation for Marlins, but I don’t remember ever using it.
If I had to guess, I would say that the other translations had happened at earlier times, when we had no access to U.S. broadcasts of games, only translated ones. Cultures were less intertwined, and names were translated. By the time the Marlins and Rockies appeared, we could watch games on satellite TV and were more used to English terminology. However, this theory is destroyed by the fact that the Devil Rays were always the Mantarrayas. So maybe “Peces Espada” was just too cumbersome a translation for “Marlins.”
Two other notes: First, Spanish is spoken so differently in terms of syntax and jargon from country to country (the word used in Venezuela for “receipt” is used in Argentina for “pastry”, for instance, and words that are perfectly common in one country are terrible swear words in others) that I would be hard-pressed to believe that my childhood experiences hold true elsewhere. ESPNdeportes.com itself has such a variety of nationalities that the inconsistencies from one column to the next are huge. As a matter of fact, some writers use the “Los” article before team names, others don’t. All of this just illustrates the point that “Latino” encompasses so many nationalities that it is very hard to get something like this right. But we have been all thrown in the same group, whether we like it or not.
Second, I have never seen a Latin team wear “Los” on its uniform., The Caracas Lions don’t wear “Los Leones,” just “Leones.” The La Guaira Sharks only wear “Tiburones,” no “Los.” So maybe that is the best reason to not add the “Los” to any team’s shirt.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The web site Improbable Soccer is running a series on team crests. The first installment is here. Expect new updates every day or two. … Did you know Navy once wore this helmet? Details here. … Unlikely stirrup alert: There’s a TV commercial currently running for the MLB 2K8 video game. Just past the 30-second mark, the voiceover (Denis Leary, I believe) says, “I wanna have the most fun you can have with those funny baseball socks on,” accompanied by a shot of the ’67 Cardinals in all their striped-stirruped glory (nice find by Chris Flinn). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Jerry Rice doesn’t mind if the Niners unretire his number so Isaac Bruce can wear it. … Gonzaga pitcher Cory Powell wore a helmet/mask combo the other day. “He recently took a comebacker in the orbital bone,” writes Matt Camino, who sent me the photo (which was taken by his fiancé, Meghan Moran). “He apparently wore a plastic mask like the ones NBA players wear after he first got hit, and now he wears the helmet and facemask to prevent it from happening again.” … Thing of beauty. … Excellent column here about a baseball card photographer who works for Topps (with thanks to Minna H.). … Just what the world needs: Billy Crystal in pinstripes. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: The A’s wore a way snazzy jersey patch yesterday. … Interesting note from Brian Vigue, who writes: “I played high school football in the mid-’60’s — and I wore a leather helmet! It wasn’t left over from the ’40s but was supposedly the latest technology at the time. There were at least three different helmets used by team members: the leather helmet, a suspension bubble-type thing, and an oblong close-fitting plastic job that kind of looked like Otto Graham’s. Many schools we played at the time also used the leather helmet.” … If you click on this link, you’ll download a PDF of a daily tournament update from the International Baseball Federation. Most of it is very official-looking, except for this amusing handwritten addendum from the Canadian coach. Also of uni-note: Check out the second numbered item here (with thanks to Bob Timmerman). … “Montreal’s going to have a new junior hockey team next year and they introduced their new jerseys today,” writes Paul Richard Cook. Full details here, and there’s a video clip that includes some previous Montreal junior hockey logos here.
March 11th, 2008
A few weeks ago I ran a Ticker item linking to this photo of Jim Kyte blow-drying his hearing aid. That led Teebz to post a comment linking to the photo you see at right — Kyte’s specially modified helmet, with ear coverings to protect his hearing aids. And that in turn led me to ask if anyone knew of other deaf athletes with specialized equipment needs.
The response was fascinating. Here’s a sampling:
• From Brad Larocque: “I remember Jim Kyte coming to our school and talking to us about playing with his impairment. He told about his trick of watching the reflections in the glass to see where everyone was on the ice, since he couldn’t hear them very well.”
• From Joe Falender: “I wear hearing aids, as I can hear about 50% in both ears. I used to play a lot of hockey, all the way up to high school. For my hearing aids, I wore the behind-the-ear model. But by the third period, or even the second period, the sweat would get into the hearing aid and it would have to be dried out, which takes about an hour or two, so I would give the hearing aid to my dad and play the rest of the game without them. Finally after being fed up with this, we got these rubbery covers that would slide over the hearing aid and protect it from the sweat. It worked like a miracle. (Nowadays I wear the in-the-cannal aids that are very small and I don’t have to worry about the sweat at all.)
• From Travis Waldron: “Not sure about the rules and regulations on hearing aids, but the University of Kentucky football team had a deaf defensive lineman, Terry Clayton, for the past four years. He couldn’t wear his hearing aids on the field because the crowd noise was magnified over everything else, creating background noise that kept him from hearing anything on the field.”
• From David Kendrick: “I am hearing-impaired and play ice hockey in a regular recreational league. I always let the refs know before the game that I don’t hear very well and ask them to cut me some slack when giving verbal commands (for example, look directly at me so I can try to read your lips). Some do, some don’t. Most of the other players have been around a few seasons and know about it. I’ve played in deaf leagues and tournaments as well. I don’t wear a hearing aid as the Jets player did, but I do wear my eyeglasses when I play. I’ve got the double smackdown: partially deaf and 20-600 nearsightedness.”
• From: Daniel Weimann: “I go to the Rochester Institute of Technology, which has the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, one of the two largest deaf schools in the country. I’m a member of the swim team and we have several deaf students, as well as a former swimmer and now a coach who are deaf or hard of hearing, ranging from cochlear implants to hearing aids. They always take their hearing aids off before they swim, of course. Sometimes they forget to turn them off in their lockers and they make high-pitched squealing sounds.”
• From: Mark Doescher: “Defensive back Martel Van Zant plays for the Oklahoma State football and is completely deaf. He has an interpreter who stays on the sidelines during practice and games and communicates between both the coaches and the player. There’s more information here”
• From Christian Bitto: “Steve Downie of the Flyers wears a hearing aid. His has a disorder caused by a car accident from when he was younger. On January 22nd, he fought David Clarkson, and at the end of the fight, as he was skating off the ice, the ref gave him his hearing aid that was knocked out. Unfortunately, I can’t find any video of the fight that goes past the refs breaking them up.”
• From: Vince Grzegorek: “Just found this article on an all-deaf soccer team in Iraq. Refs at their games have to wave a flag instead of using a whistle.”
• From Eric Hodges: “Interesting article here about the way Gallaudet University in DC used a drum to help time the snaps and how a new coach shifted things up.” [You can see the drum on the sidelines here, and there’s additional info here. — PL]
• From Joshua Wagner: “When playing football in high school, I never once considered wearing my hearing aids, because they are highly fragile machines worth thousands of dollars. As a cornerback, I merely learned the defensive signals and read them from the defensive coordinator as he was signaling to the middle linebacker in the huddle. Also, I had worked out some hand signals with my fellow players. I had an interpreter on the sidelines at all times, but I was on my own on the field. Being deaf actually made me a better player, because it forced me to be more observant by noticing subtle things, like the pressure on people’s feet and hands signaling their intent to drop back or run forward. Similarly, when running track, sometimes I would have the starter stand directly behind my starter blocks, because then they would be close enough for me to feel the starting gun rather than hearing it. In basketball, I was a point guard and my interpreter would sit next to my coach and sign what he was telling me as I dribbled the ball up. My coach would also signal a play number to me.”
Tremendous stuff. Big thanks to all who contributed, and especially to those who shared their personal experiences.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Kevin Millar shattered a pink bat the other day. … While working on last Friday’s ESPN column about the ABA, I happened upon a few shots of the Nets wearing memorial “4″ patches on their warm-up shirts. Anyone know who that was for? … Pueblo Central High in Colorado pulled some major throwback action last week — dig those belts! Too bad they ruined it with those period-inappropriate headbands (with thanks to Patrick Chippeaux). … Hmmm, do the Walsh University Cavaliers look just a bit familiar? (Thanks, Vince.) … This page has a nice little video showing Mizuno reps making glove repairs and modifications for some of the Astros in spring training (with thanks to Matt Englander). … Larry Bowa is being diplomatic, as always. … OHL report from Brian Thompson, who writes: “Wanted to point your attention to last Thursday night’s game between the Belleville Bulls and the Windsor Spitfires, which was the Spitfires’ first game since captain Mickey Renaud passed away last Monday. Not only did the Spitfires come out in Mickey Renaud warmup jerseys, but so did the Bulls. After the warmups concluded, the Spitfires had a ceremony laying their Renaud jerseys on a table, revealing their game jerseys with a small memorial chest patch.” … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Jose Reyes appears to have been stretching his pants under his heel (which got Pedro Martinez fined in 2006) the other day. … Really interesting story here about Jaromir Jagr using logo-free sticks. … We’ve talked before about the inconsistencies among teams mistaking their 10th season for their 10th anniversary (or 20th, or 30th, or whatever). But Eric Iwamoto has noticed a particularly amusing anomaly: The Giants wore this patch in 1997, but they’re now wearing this one in 2008 — 11 years later, not 10. … FC Dallas unveiled new uniforms last week (with thanks to Mark Dancer). … Wouldn’t it be better if Stephen Valiquette wore this on the front of his mask? (Thanks to Michael Romero.) … Interesting racer-back girls’ hoops jersey concept here — note the team name on the rear neckline (with thanks to Michael Orr). … According to Chad Back, Kentucky will have new hoops unis next season, as seen here and here. “Nike is calling the design ‘Secretariat,’” says Chad, “because the checkerboard design on the new unis is reminiscent of the silks that Secretariat’s jockey wore.” Yeah, patterning a uniform worn by the sports world’s tallest athletes after a design worn by the smallest athletes — that sounds like a really great idea. … AJ Brandt reports that the Flames are wearing an 18 decal in tribute to their draft pick Mickey Renaud, who passed away last week. … Georgia Tech’s women’s hoops team wore throwbacks the other day. Not as cool as this, but still pretty good (with thanks to Richard Musterer and Sean Bedford). … Aside from the obvious button issues, how does an A.L. pitcher end up with such a big dirt stain while pitching at home? (Card provided by Stuart Greenlee.) … Jeremy Brahm sent along this 2001 photo of Yakult Swallows catcher Atsushi Furuta wearing a knee brace outside his pants. Never seen that before. … Characteristically eagle-eyed branding report from Mark Mihalik: “Last year I noticed that Gary Sheffield, a longtime Nike guy, had started wearing non-Nike cleats, and he also had a unique logo on some of his gear–particularly his wristbands. In this photo, you’ll see something that looked like an S or a 3. I figured it was some kind of signature logo, but it turns out it’s actually a signature company called GS3. Even though there’s apparently absolutely nothing on the internet about this brand, I found an auction for a pair of his game-used cleats that confirms it. It’s also what his Tigers teammate Carlos Guillen was wearing through parts of last season, and both he and Sheffield have been wearing the same model so far this spring.” … Just because it was called the MLB Urban Invitational, did Southern’s coach have to leave the sticker on his brim? (Screen grab courtesy of Randy Williams.) … Buncha good spring training pics from Kenn Tomasch: Flapless helmets being worn by coaches Roberto Kelly, Mike Quade, and Ivan DeJesus (good to see that the Cubbie coaches get to wear the team’s standard embroidered felt logo appliqués), and a vendor who knows a thing or two about striped socks. … Wren Wrangler notes that Andres Nocioni was wearing tights yesterday. As you may recall, these were banned except for instances of medical necessity — can’t wait to hear if Nocioni had a doctor’s note for this one. … Last week I ran this photo of the new Oregon State baseball uniforms, but I didn’t realize they were using striped stirrups (with thanks to Mark Snider). … Numerological observation from Duncan Gee, who writes: “In the third quarter Friday night against the Sixers, the Golden State Warriors had Stephen Jackson, Mickael Pietrus, Al Harrington, Chris Webber, and Baron Davis on the court for a few minutes — Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Consecutive numbers maybe an East Bay thing — last year, the Oakland A’s on many occassions had Mike Piazza (#31), Jack Cust (#32), and Nick Swisher (#33) as the 3-4-5 heart of the batting order.” … On Friday I ran Paul Wiederecht’s analysis of that old Yankee Stadium vendor’s uniform, including his mother’s recollection that the stadium’s dominant color had been green until Lou Dorfsman had the facade painted white and had the seats changed to blue. Now he’s provided a bunch of old shots that show the stadium’s green phase, as seen here, here, and here. … I’ll be on the road today, so please play nice while I’m gone. Thanks.
March 3rd, 2008
Rob Ullman likes to draw girls. Slinky girls, hipster girls, rocker girls, hairy girls. Tough girls, nasty girls, superheroine girls, naked girls.
All of which is great, but it wouldn’t much matter from a Uni Watch perspective if not for a unique sub-niche that Ullman’s developed along the way: He specializes in drawing pin-up girls wearing hockey jerseys.
Ullman’s hockey girls are sexy, for sure. But like most classic pin-up art, they’re fun, playful girl-next-door cuties, not sex-bomb porno vixen types. The key element: They’re always smiling, which usually makes them look endearingly wholesome. And yes, their charms are definitely enhanced by the jerseys they’re wearing.
Ullman, who works as an illustrator and cartoonist, has been a Uni Watch reader for some time, but I only became aware of his sports-themed cheesecake material a few weeks ago. If you’re a comics or illustration fan, you’ll spot lots of classic and contemporary influences in his work; if you don’t know anything about that world, that’s a pity, but Rob’s jersey-clad gals are an ideal introduction. Cheesecake and uniforms: two great tastes that taste great together.
Rob recently stepped away from his drafting board long enough to chat about his work. Here’s the scoop:
Uni Watch: How old are you, and where do you live?
Rob Ullman: I’m 36, and I live in Richmond, Virginia, with my wife and our baby daughter.
UW: Where’d you grow up?
RU: In northeast Ohio, around the Akron area, about halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
UW: And how long have you been an illustrator?
RU: I’ve been drawing forever. I’ve been doing professional illustration for about 10 years now, and I’ve been working at it full-time for about four years.
UW: So you make a living at it?
RU: Pretty much, yeah.
UW: What kind of sports fan are you?
RU: I’m a big NFL fan, big hockey fan. I always get excited about Opening Day for baseball, and I’ll watch a little bit of the NBA playoffs. My favorite part of the year is probably the NHL playoffs.
UW: Have you always been into uniforms?
RU: Pretty much, yeah. I still have an old Lynn Swann jersey I had when I was a little kid. And I was always fascinated by football helmets, and I’d draw them, draw the logos.
UW: That was my next question: Were you doodling logos in the margins of your notebooks and stuff like that?
RU: Yeah, always, always. The Steelers’ hypocycloids were especially hard to master, but I eventually did. The Pirates’ “P” was a lot easier.
UW: Did you save that stuff?
RU: Some of it, yeah. In 1989, when I was in high school, the Steelers finally got back to the playoffs for the first time in years, and I was so jazzed that I made a little Steelers-vs.-Oilers sign that I hung in my room [Rob couldn’t find that one, but he did turn up a similar piece from his youth — PL]. I drew the helmets all meticulously, drew the logos exactly how they were supposed to look — so, uh, yeah, I guess I was a little obsessive.
UW: In addition to liking uniforms, you also clearly have a fondness for classic girlie pin-up art. How’d you get into that specialty niche?
RU: It was an aptitude that just sort of developed. There’s this sex advice column by Dan Savage, called “Savage Love,” which runs in a lot of alt-weeklies, and I started illustrating that for City Paper in Washington, D.C. in 2000 or so…
UW: Here in New York, “Savage Love” runs in the Village Voice, but they don’t run any illustrations with it.
RU: It’s so much better with illustrations — not necessarily mine, but anyone’s, just to provide some visual interest. Anyway, if you’re familiar with the column, it tends to be pretty raw, and it basically gave me the opportunity to draw lots of women in various ridiculous situations.
UW: Okay, but there are lots of different ways to draw women. How’d you come up with that classic pin-up style? Were you consciously patterning your work on that look?
RU: Kind of. I’ve always described my style as Archie Comics gone bad. Dan DeCarlo, who was an Archie Comics artist for years and years [and who also did lots of pin-up work of his own — PL], my style sort of went that way. It wasn’t really a conscious choice. It’s just sort of the way it developed.
UW: Are there any other artists who’ve been particularly big influences on you, like Vargas or anyone like that?
RU: Gil Elvgren is my favorite of those guys. Fritz Willis is another one whose style I always liked. There are also a couple of comic artists, like Bruce Timm — he developed the look of the Batman cartoon from around 1992. Real simple, kinda Art Deco cartoon-y sort of style. Another guy who worked on that show, named Shane Glines — I like him too. Oh, and I should probably mention Coop.
UW: Yeah, I was gonna ask if he was on your list.
RU: Definitely.
UW: So how did you hit upon the notion of combining your artwork with your passion for sports and uniforms?
RU: I’m not sure exactly, but at some point I just thought that a girl wearing a hockey sweater, and very little else, seemed very appealing to me.
UW: As it might be to many of us.
RU: Right. It seems kind of, uh, obvious, I guess. So I drew that. And as an artist, your first attempt at something is usually pretty rough, and you say, “Okay, I’ll try it again and do better this time, and do better the time after that,” and I just kept on going back to it.
UW: Do you recall when that first one was?
RU: Yeah, back around 1993 or so. I just saw that Devils jersey and thought of the whole concept of the devil, and being sinful, being lustful, that sort of thing — it just seemed like a no-brainer. I’ve gone back to that Devils idea several times. And it’s a good way to keep people interested if I want to talk about hockey on my blog, since most of the people who come to my site probably haven’t watched a hockey game in their entire lives. But they’ll stay for the cheesecake pictures and maybe end up reading my little Western Conference preview or whatever.
UW: You’ve just touched upon something I’ve written about before, namely that most artists and creative people and alterna-people, or whatever you want to call them, aren’t into sports at all.
RU: Exactly.
UW: So do you, as an artist and a sports fan, sometimes feel a bit isolated in that regard?
RU: Sometimes. In high school, I ran with the arty crowd, and those people all hated jocks, hated sports. … Recently I was posting a bunch of knocks on the Patriots on my blog, and a lot of people were saying, “Okay, enough of that. Enough pigskin — more skin.” That sort of thing.
UW: So it’s been about 15 years now — do you have any idea how many of these uniform-related cheesecake pieces you’ve done?
RU: I’ve probably done a girl in a hockey sweater at least 30 times.
UW: Do you know how many teams you’ve depicted?
RU: Maybe half the league. It pretty much comes down to the fact that there are certain logos I like better, that are more fun to draw.
UW: Which logos are your favorites?
RU: I think the Devils have a great logo. Same goes for the Bruins and the Penguins — love that skatin’ penguin.
UW: Are there any that you particularly dislike?
RU: Being from Ohio, I really want to like the Columbus Blue Jackets, but they just cannot seem to get it together with their logo. The one they have now is an improvement over their first one, but there’s still nothing I really like about it. Florida is another one that seems very forgettable, nothing special. That seems to be the case with most new logos over the past 10 years or so. They just don’t have that iconic quality.
UW: What about other sports? You sent me two versions of a girl wearing an Indians jersey, but have you done many other non-hockey pieces?
RU: Not many. I’ve done a couple of football ones, including one that was a commission for a fan — he’s a graduate of Vanderbilt and wanted a girl dressed in a Vanderbilt jersey. And I’ve done a few baseball pieces — that Indians one is the most successful example. But hockey seems to be the one that gets the most play.
UW: Whatever the sport, do you try to get the uniform details exactly right, or do you tend to take some liberties?
RU: I try to get them as right as I can. I probably wouldn’t sacrifice an artistic choice just for the sake of some little detail, but I try to be as accurate as possible in terms of piping, logos, and all that.
UW: Like that NHL Winter Classic patch that you included on that Penguins jersey.
RU: Yeah, exactly.
UW: But on that Indians illustration, it appears that you depicted the jersey as zipper-front, and I don’t think the Indians ever had a zip-front jersey with that logo on it.
RU: Actually, that was more a matter of just leaving the buttons out. It’s supposed to be a button-front. I did consider all of that, and I basically decided that including the buttons would get in the way of the pleasing lines of the jersey. So that was a case of artistic license. The buttons are more implied.
UW: When you’re doing these, do you use actual jerseys on a live model?
RU: No. I pretty much draw ’em out of my head. Sometimes I’ll use some visual reference for the figure, but about 80% of the time I just come up with a pose and then try to drape the jersey onto it. It’s tough, because a real hockey jersey probably wouldn’t sit on a woman’s body the way I draw it.
UW: So you’re not using a live model, and you’re also not using a real jersey on a mannequin or something like that?
RU: Right. Just out of my head, and matching the jersey to what’s shown on NFLshop.com or some place like that.
UW: Have you ever tried to depict an older vintage design with more textured fabric, back from the days when hockey sweaters really were sweaters?
RU: I did a comic a few years ago called Old-Timey Hockey Tales, and in that I tried to go for a tighter-fitting, woolen jersey.
UW: But have you ever tried to get that effect with the pin-up art?
RU: Not so much, no.
UW: Have you done any other sports-oriented comics?
RU: A couple summers ago I did a piece called “Brave Old World” for Richmond magazine. Basically, I can’t stand the shape that baseball’s in here in Richmond, and I wanted to vent about it. Our stadium is ugly and our team looks exactly like the Atlanta Braves, which strikes me as preposterous for a city with Richmond’s identity. A few weeks ago, the R-Braves announced that they’re moving after this season, but I don’t think my comic had anything to do with it.
UW: I know you are the perfect person for me to pose this question to: Would you care to hold forth on the greatness of striped socks?
RU: Things are so much more visually interesting when they have stripes on them. You can’t go wrong with them. It says sports.
UW: Plus a sexy girl looks even sexier with striped socks.
RU: That’s something I just recently added to the girl in a hockey shirt paradigm — to put the socks on her. And let me tell you, man, it makes all the difference. It’s too much. I actually bought some striped socks for my wife — she was going to her office Halloween party as Poison Ivy, the Batman villain. So I got her these long striped socks from American Apparel, thigh-high. And they’re, like, kelly green with white stripes — they just look awesome. It’s just the coolest thing. It’s kinda weird, taking something that looks good on a really tough-ass hockey player and putting in a more feminine context. I don’t know why it works both ways, but it really does.
=======
Of course, Poison Ivy doesn’t actually wear striped socks, but chalk that up to artistic license.
Postscript: Shortly after our interview, Rob surprised me by whipping up a special baseball-themed illo that he knew I’d like. Interested in commissioning him to give the pin-up treatment to your favorite team? Contact him here.
It sucks that I even have to say this… but don’t interpret today’s mildly racy content as an excuse (much less an invitation) for an outbreak of the stupids in the comments section. If the discussion takes a turn for the juvenile, I’ll simply turn off the commenting function. Maybe for a few days. But I’m sure that won’t be necessary because you’ll all keep things on an intelligent level, right? Right.
Uni Watch Travel Update: Looks like the the Uni Watch party in Seattle will take place on the night of March 14th. Time and place details to follow shortly.
Meanwhile, here’s a little nugget for you to chew on: Imagine if a minor league team held a Uni Watch Night promotion, with the home team wearing stirrups and yours truly throwing out the first pitch. Sound preposterous? Actually, yeah, it does, but it’s in the works anyway. Still very provisional at this point, but the wheels are turning. Stay tuned.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Joe Skiba’s upcoming live chat on Giants.com is next Friday, March 7th (not this Friday, as I initially reported yesterday before correcting the text). You still have to register here. … Yesterday I wondered aloud whether Yankee Stadium vendors actually wore this thing in the 1970s. Now Todd Radom has provided this photo of Jackie O at the ballpark in 1967– note the vendor behind the usher behind Jackie. … New baseball uniforms this season for the Florida Gators, plus an ice cream man alternate cap (with thanks to Josh Coney). … “During the the Mets’ spring game versus the U of Michigan on Tuesday, I noticed that the Michigan catcher had the school’s standard ‘wings’ logo on his catcher’s helmet,” writes Cork Gaines. “What’s great about is that the wings are facing forward even though he’s wearing the helmet backwards.” … ” I’ve noticed that teams across D1 NCAA lacrosse are wearing bright green shoelaces,” writes Andrew Matthews. “Is this part of the whole ‘going green’ phenomenon? What’s the deal?” Anyone..? … Jere Smith has stumbled upon an oddity: According to this page, the Cincy Reds’ uni numbers in 1938 were all 35 or higher. “Everything was normal the years before and after,” he writes. “I came across this because I’ve been trying to figure out why no Reds players wore Nos. 1 through 4, from basically the ’40s to the ’90s. And they’re not retired. I figure they may have been reserved for coaches.” Anyone know more about either of these mysteries? … Interesting note from Ariel Shosan, who writes: “I just returned from a Cubs practice at Hohokam in Mesa. The main gate now features 6 ‘batting circles’ — one is a Cubs logo, and the others are Santo 10, Banks 14, Sandberg 23, Williams 26, and … Jenkins 31. The thing is, the Cubs haven’t retired Fergie Jenkins’ number. Fans have long thought that they would retire 31 for Fergie and Maddux when the time came, à la Berra and Dickey.” Hmmmm. … It’s no surprise that many teams still have old, gray-underbrimmed 5950s in stock. But check out Rajai Davis yesterday — he was wearing an old 5950 and a Russell jersey, which is several years out of date (great catch by Bryan). … Looks like the stirrups policy adopted by the Giants’ starting pitchers is trickling down to the club’s younger hurlers. Check out double-A prospect Eugene Espineli (with thanks to Jameson Costello). … Steelers broadcaster Myron Cope, inventor of the Terrible Towel, died yesterday. A memorial helmet decal seems likely, although I’m hoping for a towel-shaped jersey patch with “Myron” in stencil lettering (or, really, anything involving the word, “Myron,” which would be the single greatest word to adorn an NFL uni in league history). … The White Sox wore NIU caps yesterday.
February 28th, 2008
Got a note a little while back from reader Andy Edelson, who’d investigated an interesting phenomenon. I’ll let him tell the tale in his own words:
During a recent Rangers/Canucks broadcast, the New York announcers were interviewing Vancouver captain Trevor Linden between periods and noted that he’s worn 11 of the franchise’s 13 NHL jerseys — quite the impressive feat. Being the uni aficionado that I am, I had to research this peculiar stat.
By my count, it’s actually nine of 13 [one, two, three (very similar to the previous one, just slight color changes), four, five, six, seven (very similar to number five, the main change being the shoulder patches in the latter version and the switch in ‘03-’04 to wear the dark jerseys at home), eight, nine — PL]. Still impressive (or nauseating, depending on your view of Vancouver’s constant uni overhauls), as Linden has spent all or part of 15 seasons with the Canucks during his 20-year career.
As if wearing some of history’s ugliest jersey’s weren’t enough, “Captain Canuck” spent a few seasons in exile, during which he wore the Islanders’ “wave” design. All in all, in 20 years, Linden has worn 13 different sweaters for five teams, including stints with the aforementioned Islanders (who went back to their classic design in Linden’s final season with them), the Canadiens, and the Caps.
Not including journeymen who’ve been traded eight or nine times, can you think of any other player in all of North American pro sports who’s been the canvass for so many jersey styles, especially while for the most part being the face of a single franchise?
Good question. Can anyone think of a relatively non-itinerant player who can give Linden a run for his money in the “Most Jerseys” sweepstakes?
Super Bowl Tales, Continued: Yesterday’s guest entry by Nicole Haase about her experience as a security guard in Super Bowl XXXVI prompted reader Ryan Patrick to share his own story as a Super Bowl employee:
Through an old friend of my dad’s, I got a sweet gig working for Entertainment Tonight at Super Bowl XXXVIII. They needed someone from Houston who knew how to get around and where all the clubs were, since they covered all that stuff. I was in my first semester in law school and it was an easy $500/day (plus I got to go to the Play Station, Maxim, Playboy, SI, ESPN, and MTV parties).
Entertainment Tonight also covered the pregame and halftime shows, so when we were on the field I had to wear this vest, along with all my credentials that hung around my neck [here’s the rear view and tagging]. Depending on what kind of access you had, you had a different color. You HAD to have it on you, so it was weird to see the on-air people with it tucked into the waist of their jeans so they didn’t look like total idiots on TV with these things on.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Kudos to the oh-so-clever reader who came up with the first caption listed beneath the photo here. … More coverage of Wednesday night’s Va.Tech/Maryland vomiting incident, complete with video, here. … According to the last sentence of this page, newly signed Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon will be wearing uni No. 1, thus doubling the current contingent of single-digitized MLB pitchers (the only other one is Josh Towers). … Jennifer Hayden notes that John Paxson had his head placed in a suggestive position the other day. … Jimmy Rollins now has his own signature sneaker design (with thanks to Korryn Mozisek). … Adam Vaggalis and I would both like to know why the Lakers were represented by a giraffe on this card. … The Cubs, who stopped wearing their blue alternate jersey last season, are reviving it for a handful of games this year. … Scroll down to the “Fashion Police” item toward the end of this page for info on Ichiro’s new line of jeans, and his thoughts on what his teammates wear (with thanks to Jason Cruz). … I’ve previously reported that some of the White Sox have been wearing Northen Illinois caps since the shootings on the NIU campus. And now they’ve announced that the entire team will wear NIU caps for the team’s first spring training game. … After a hiatus of nearly three decades, Oregon is reviving its baseball program next year, which means Nike will get to design a new set of uniforms for its favorite guinea pig school. Key excerpt from this article (forwarded by Jon V. Buerstatte): “[Manager George] Horton describes himself as ‘a little bit of a traditionalist,’ and Nike designers haven’t been, and so it will be interesting to see what this clash of cultures produces. ‘They’ve made some suggestions that at least in my opinion might be a little far out there,’ he said, ‘but who am I to argue against the geniuses at Nike for style and color and presentation and all the things that they’re brilliant at? I think that’s the exciting thing, to come up with a common ground where we like the look and they like the marketing part of it.’” Boy does that ever sound like a train wreck in the making.
February 22nd, 2008
The NHL All-Star Game was last night, but I found the uniforms to be unremarkable at best (and besides, I was busy participating in Soup Night for most of the game). Fortunately, reader Chuck Miller has a report on another all-star game that recently took place — one that featured many more interesting uni-related moments that the NHL game did. Here’s the scoop:
The Continental Basketball Association held its annual All-Star Game last Tuesday. The players wore their regular team uniforms, like in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, so there was a wide variety of designs on display. For star-spangled style, the Butte Daredevils pay homage to Butte native Evel Knievel by wearing jerseys inspired by Knievel’s leather jumpsuits. The Minot Skyrockets’ road jerseys may be hard to read from the front, but there’s no problem identifying the player from the back. The Albany Patroons’ road jerseys are also hard to read, as the jersey front looks more like abstract art than a team name.
Due to some last-minute player replacements, some all-stars didn’t arrive with their proper uniforms. Zach Marbury of the Atlanta Krunk was forced to wear an All-Star Game T-shirt and practice shorts. Despite the Oklahoma Cavalry playing as members of the “home” team and wearing their white jerseys, Oklahoma’s Marvin Phillips brought his blue road Cavalry gear, which could have caused confusion on the court.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Xplosion, who wear white at home and black on the road, chose to wear their yellow alternates (and yes, all three jerseys have the words “PITTSBURGH XPLOSION” as contrasting side seams). However, the National Conference squad was designated as the home team, which meant that the Yakama Sun Kings (four of whose players were in the game) wore their home yellow jerseys, meaning that you had, for a time, yellow defending against yellow.
Several players found unique ways to accentuate their sweatbands. Nat Burton of the Albany Patroons chose to wear the official All-Star Game logo pin on his headband, while Atlanta’s Zach Marbury wore armband with a Sharpie-inscribed tribute to his father, who passed away earlier in the season.
Native American influence was felt throughout the game. When the Butte Daredevils’ Odell Bradley was named the game’s MVP, he was given a special jacket, with artwork inspired by Native American culture.
Big thanks to Chuck for what I’m fairly certain is the longest report ever written about a CBA game.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Some nice old uniforms up for auction here, here, and here. And check out this one, which features dotted-line embroidery, an unusual belt style, and an awesome sleeve patch. … Nice feature of Super Bowl rings here. … News flash: Hockey fans like wearing hockey jerseys. … Interesting piece here about presidential campaign logos (with thanks to Justine DeCotis). … Jeremy Brahm reports that several Puma-outfitted teams at the African Cup of Nations soccer tourney are wearing bitmapped uni numbers (additional examples here, here, here) and that the 2008 Beijing Olympics soccer ball will look like this (only, y’know, a little bit smaller). Jeremy also sees some similarities between Monty Python’s classic “I’m a lumberjack” skit and very embarrassing U.S. figure skaters Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto. … College hoops note from Brian Rice, who writes: “Here are the new Tennessee basketball warmups, which debuted for the beginning of SEC play earlier this month. They’re throwbacks to the warmups worn during the era of legendary coach Ray Mears, who passed away last June. One down note: These are worn during pre-game only — when the team returns for introductions, they’re back in the standard Adidas shooting shirts and warmups, as the contract requires.” … Hawaii is angling for a new apparel contract. … Randy Miller reports that USF has switched to Under Armour and will apparently be wearing this jersey next season. Interesting to see that the design includes a football version of the NikeWorld collarbone horns we’re used to seeing in college basketball. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: According to this Chicago Tribune blog entry, the White Sox will be wearing camouflage jerseys on the 4th of July, which I think is really overdoing it. Independence Day is about a lot of patriotic things, not just militarism. … Reprinted from Saturday’s comments: LSU players in the Senior Bowl wore white helmets to match the South squad’s white jerseys. … And speaking of the Senior Bowl, Colt Brennan was wearing a sunburst visor. … If you like stripes as much as I do, then De Paul vs. Marquette is about as good as it gets (additional pics here and here). … You know the pink/breast cancer thing has gotten out of hand when even the refs are getting into the act (with thanks to David Soline, whose full album of pink-themed Indiana Ice photos is available here). … Also going pink in recent days: the Johnstown Chiefs (wtih thanks to Doug Keklak) and the Purdue women’s hoops team. … As many of you are already aware, the A’s have been showcasing their hideous new alternate jerseys in recent days. … Randy Williams was watching How It’s Made on the Science Channel and was surprised to see a segment on the Riddell helmet factory. He alertly snapped some nice screen grabs, as seen here, here, and here. … Jeff Barak attended the annual Twins Fest over the weekend. “They had a wonderful historical display of Twins jerseys,” he reports. “They were in two rows, going chronologically left to right across the top [as seen in sequence here, here, here, and here]. The top row started with the earliest 1961-71 style, followed by the 1972-73 button-down, 1974-86 pullovers, and 1987-present styles. Then they had the red alternates, blue alts, vest alts, St. Patrick’s spring training, Senators throwback, a St. Paul Negro League throwback, and 1970s and 1960s throwbacks. The bottom row had the fabulous turn ahead the clock [here’s the back view], a Jackie Robinson reproduction (for some unknown reason), a pair of batting practice jerseys, a No. 71 worn by Joe Mauer when he first signed, a No. 20 worn in the movie Little Big League, a pair of jackets (one of which was a six-foot-long bullpen jacket for cold weather), another more modern pair of jackets, and a sampling of jerseys with commemorative patches.” … Great blog post by Kenn Tomasch about his visit to the NFL Experience exhibit in Phoenix. … A UNC hoops museum is set to open today (with thanks to Tom Arnel).
January 28th, 2008
By Bryan Redemske
There’s a guy in my office who rattles off lineups and stats when you start talking about baseball teams from the 1950s and ’60s. There’s another guy who talks about the various stadiums teams played in. Me, of course, I think of uniforms. And not just uniforms, but the way they were styled in particular eras. While the first guy’s mental Rolodex is fluttering from stat to stat, I’m picturing Al Kaline (right). While the second guy talks about the the monuments at Yankee Stadium, I think about the Mick, and how totally awesome he looked in pinstripes.
At this point, both guys usually leave because I’m rubbing my fingers together, eyes closed, and mumbling, “Wool flannel … so pretty … so scratchy … so baggy… .” And so on.
All weirdness on my part aside, this is actually how I think of different eras in sports. Pre-WWII baseball? Longish sleeves soft-crowned hats. And then there’s the ’70s. It’s like a long, tight, polyester nightmare. Things toned down in the ’80s, but the Straw pops into my head every time. Lots of sock, still tight, still slightly garish. For the current era, it’s Manny. Sigh.
Take a minute and consider your own mental filing system. Is your old-school football reference point this guy? The sleeves shortened for Unitas’s era, then the pads got really big in the ’70s. The college kids thought it necessary to show off their abs during that same period, something that continued well through the ’80s and into the ’90s. And that’s how I think of college football through the era — a faceless, teamless guy in big pads with exposed abs.
Three hockey images come to mind: Original Six, expansion/Gretzky, Crosby.
Basketball? Short and tight to longer to ridiculous. And also, unfortunately, shiny. I now generalize the entire high school basketball-playing population because of nylon dazzle fabric.
As a cyclist, I’m forced to render that sport’s past in uniform-based context as well. Really old guys (pre-mid-’50s) all look like this, Eddy Merckx represents almost every rider through the ’70s, and then there’s the tragic ’80s and early ’90s. And then there’s this. He has a category to himself.
Research Projects: Paul here. Earlier this week I posted pics of Marquette’s untucked jerseys. But as someone on the Chris Creamer board pointed out the next day, De Paul also went untucked back around 1981, as seen here and here — I hadn’t been aware of that. Aside from the pajama-era White Sox, have there been any other untucked teams? Obviously, I’m not counting hockey or other sports where the jerseys are meant to be untucked — I’m talking about teams that showed off their shirttails in an otherwise tucked-in league.
Also: Yesterday’s comments included a link to this pink helmet, which is essentially a scarlet letter that has to be worn by the player who comes up on the short end of a scoring game during practice (full details about halfway down this page). So it’s sort of like the pink knapsack routine in baseball, except it’s more uni-based. Can anyone think of any other uni-based scarlet letters?
Raffle Reminder: You know the drill — $250 Distant Replays gift card. E-mail your entry here by 10 p.m. tonight. One e-mail per person. Winner announced on Monday.
Uni Watch News Ticker: “Two CBA teams, the Oklahoma Cavalry and Great Falls Explorers, have had their road uniforms disappear this season,” writes Chuck Miller. “In Oklahoma’s case, fired head coach Micheal Ray Richardson simply took the road unis until he was rehired a week later; in the Great Falls situation, the circumstances are unknown. Anyway, this caused both the Cavalry and Explorers, on the road, to wear the road uniforms of their host teams, as can be seen by these photos of Albany versus Oklahoma (Albany is in the yellow) and Albany hosting Great Falls (ditto).” … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Great gallery of New Jersey high school hockey jerseys here. … We’ve all seen plenty of shots of Cleveland’s elfin mascot, Brownie. Until now, though, I hadn’t seen one where he had spikes on his stockings (with thanks to Brendon Yarian, who also passed along this shot of a Bears jersey with what appears to be an upside-down “3″). … As I mentioned in my ESPN column a few weeks ago, I don’t like uni memorials that include the deceased’s signature — seems a bit creepy. But Motherwall FC in Scotland apparently feels differently, as they’ve just tributed Phil O’Donnell by embroidering his autograph onto their jersey. Full details here (with thanks to Patrick O’Donnell). … Interesting note from Travis Edwards, who writes: “My boss and I were talking about football jerseys, and he had told me about some team (unsure who they were) who used to have footballs on the sides of their jerseys. They used to run the wing offense and when they would run, everyone would have their hands to their sides acting as though they had the ball. Now, was he jerking me around, or can you help me to identify who that team was?” … The Central Hockey League held their All-Star Game a few nights ago, and Scotty Hockey sent along a pic of both uniforms. … Hmmm, separated at birth? (Good find by Ronnie Poore.) … Good note from Steve Shanabruch, who writes: “Twins pitcher Pat Neshek has a blog, and he often has auctions for game-used items. The funny thing is, the winner isn’t the person who bids the most money, it’s the person who offers the best baseball cards (he’s a huge collector). Anyway, one of the recent auctions was for a luggage strap that he used for road games last season, inscribed with the last name ‘Dahmer.’ I figured he was using the name of a serial killer as his alias, but it turns out his alias was ‘Cy Dahmer,’ because if you say it fast, it sounds like ’side-armer,’ which is how he pitches.” … LeBron James has a new sneaker, and Vince has written his take on them. … Yesterday’s lead item regarding prototypes prompted Andrew Schimmel to send in n this shot from the Florida Panthers’ uni unveiling back in May of 1993. “Note that the red sweater has blue numbers with a yellow outline,” he writes. “The Panthers never used this color combo for the red sweater at any point. Also, the gloves have claws printed on them. I would tend to think they weren’t serious about actually using such gloves — I believe it was only for the unveiling ceremony.” A shame, because I think the claws look pretty cool! … Very unusual hoops jersey being worn by Fairfax High in L.A. Here’s another |
